UDAY SANKAR NANDY, managing director, Benfish, met readers of The Telegraph at his Salt Lake office on Friday to answer their queries. Participants included Rupa Bose, Manik Bhattacharya, Susanta Mondol, Sourish Misra, Debipada Bhattacharya, Sandeep Banerjee and Subhadyuti Datta

Sourish Misra: There is only a handful of Benfish outlets in Salt Lake and the items sold there are not of the same quality as those sold elsewhere. Why?

You must be quite a gourmet. There is indeed a difference in quality. There are four Benfish kiosks in Salt Lake ? at Labony, PNB, Karunamoyee and Tank no. 13 ? but their owners don?t sell our products. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to sue them for misusing our brand name.

Subhadyuti Datta: There is a craze for fast food among the young generation. Several companies have set up chains of eateries in the city. Are you planning to follow suit?

Yes. Fisheries minister Kironmoy Nanda has directed us to increase the number of Benfish outlets by appointing franchisees.

We have standardised the design of our kiosks. Unemployed youths with their own land or set-up will be given preference during selection. They will have to bear the cost of building the kiosks and take a specified quantity of daily supply from Benfish.

The kiosk owners will get 25 per cent commission from Benfish on the procurement of supply. We are exploring the option of offering subsidy on refrigerators and microwave ovens.

Debipada Bhattacharya: What does Benfish do with the unsold cooked items?

We dispose of them if they are not sold in 24 hours.

Sourish Misra: Do you have any plan of home-delivering fish or fish products?

No. However, we might consider bulk delivery for parties.

Debipada Bhattacharya: Do you supply raw fish? If yes, how can we contact your office?

We supply bekti, prawn and lobster to parties. Our contact number is 23575215. The order must be placed at least 30 days in advance. Even Raj Bhavan procures its supply from us.

Swapan Ghosh: I have heard that you are diversifying into tourism. Is that true?

We entered the tourism business three years ago. We have 11 tourist lodges at Puri, Digha, Frasergunj, Diamond Harbour, Haldia, Shankarpur, Darjeeling, Kumlai and Kalimpong. About 88,000 tourists visit the lodges in a year. The room charges vary from Rs 250 to Rs 750 per day. All the lodges have restaurants. We plan to start online booking soon.

Sanjib Dasgupta: How many mobile fast food vans do you ply in Calcutta? Would you increase their number in future?

We have six fast food vans. Their annual sale adds up to Rs 45 lakh. Benfish made a total profit of Rs 23 crore last year. However, we don?t want to expand our fleet of vans because of the growing parking problem.

Rupa Bose: Why have you stopped importing hilsa from Bangladesh?

The traders in Bangladesh were charging exorbitant rates. Besides, a lot of black money is also involved in the transactions.

Susanta Mondol: Crabs have a good export potential. What steps are taking to tap the market abroad?

We have six crab cooperatives. Crab fattening is done in their hatcheries. One kg of fattened crab is sold for Rs 400 in Japan, Bangkok and Europe. Female crabs with eggs taste better and fetch higher prices in the international market. Benfish has procured land to set up a marketing complex in Sarberia. It will be a Rs 1-crore project.

Concluded